Cumapol opens new Tumble Dryer during ‘Behind the scenes’

Capacity expansion at Cumapol Emmen

Over the past few months, people have been working hard on the construction of the new Tumble Dryer at Cumapol Emmen. This Tumble Dryer will facilitate the in-house crystallisation, drying and/or post-condensation of even more products in smaller volumes at Cumapol. The dryer is suitable for batches of 20 tonnes or slightly less. Marco Brons, technical director of Cumapol explains why the expansion is necessary: “Given the market changes in biobased and circular plastics, it is important to continue to invest in production equipment, so that we remain flexible and innovative and can be pioneers in the development of new specialist products. The expansion of the post-condensation capacity ensures that we can make more complex products without running a high risk of inferior quality products and/or contamination of other products.”

Circular polyester chain

The theme of the Behind the Scenes event is innovation and sustainability, which is why Cumapol will also highlight its project for the chemical recycling of polyester. Cumapol has entered into a partnership with DSM-Niaga and Morssinkhof, with NHL Stenden Hogeschool and DuFor (polymer materials) as project partners. This is a two-year project, involving the construction of a pilot plant of 20 kg/hr at Cumapol in Emmen. Different commodity flows will be analysed, such as coloured bottles, trays, textile and Niaga carpet. The pilot plant should be operational by early 2019. Its purpose is, among other things, to obtain knowledge for converting Cumapol’s static polymerisation lines. The target is to produce 25 k tonnes annually here in a fully continuous process.